Finally finished my first trips on my new to me Rpod.

I've witnessed couple tire blowouts on the way, and was wondering if you carry a portable jack for emergency tire change over. 

I've got a 3 ton jack at home for all tire changeover, but it's too heavy to lug around. 

Thanks. 

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-hydraulic-bottle-jack-56739.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=17890472041&campaignid=17890472041&utm_content=140972207193&adsetid=140972207193&product=56739&store=56&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0IGnBhDUARIsAMwFDLmeSPnjPDAxEUHrdvIZt8g0lBNNReE_UGZR7G-tLQ6-FkLWdDvIBXgaAnFSEALw_wcB

The Harbor Heights seems like a decent model with 18inch max height. 

Will check locally for sure.  hope I can find something decent for the HRE model.

Used to carry a bottle jack many years ago for my 177 until I had a flat and found out the bottle jack was too tall to fit under the jacking point.  And my fingers weren't strong enough to dig through concrete or asphalt that was on the shoulder of the road.   Since then (10 years ago) a two ton floor jack from HF was purchased, compact and has its own carrying case, weighs maybe 15-18 lbs. 

Remember when you have a flat you only have 4" to work with, at least that is all on a 177, so measure the length of that bottle jack before making a purchase.

The all-in-one sounds like a great idea, keeping an eye for any sales.  

I always jack up under the frame, though I've seen ppl position under the axle. 

On a side note, realized I actually have a smaller bottle jack from many years ago, but it's not tall enough. 

I don't have my Rpod anymore, but I remember being told I could jack up the trailer by placing the jack under the mounting flange on the axle (not the axle tube). If I remember correctly, There was plenty of room for the 12 ton HF jack even with a flat tire. I now have a tandem axle which takes care of a lot of the clearance issues and the recommendation from Dexter is to jack up from the mounting flange as well.

This has been discussed many times in the past-both issues of where to jack and what jack to use.

I tried to use a bottle jack and found 2 major issues--there was not enough clearance (height) for the bottle jack and the bottle jack has too small of a footprint to be safe and solid. A 4"-6" round jack in soft ground/gravel with a round top is not a good way to jack up 2000 pounds even if there is enough height to make it work.

I ended up with a 2 ton floor jack from Harbor Freight.  It is larger, weighs more,  has a low profile and a larger footprint. As I recall, it cost about $75 3 years ago. that is the type of jack that I would recommend.

Where to jack is partially determined by which pod you have and the axle/mount configuration. for my 179, the manufacturer and my tire  guy agree that the mounting flange for the axle is the right place to jack.

Travel often and safe

Vann

Aside from the clearance issue which is a limitation, I have to respectfully disagree with a floor jack being better. The intended environment of a floor jack is smooth solid surface, something that is not a given when towing. Wood blocks and plastic leveling pads can be used on a bottle jack to provide stability. I always carry a jackstand as well for safety and if I need to lift incrementally.

I respectfully disagree with your respectable disagreement.

the floor jack is approximately 10" wide x 22" long and is a much more stable footprint than a round 4"-6" bottle jack.The base of the floor jack can definitely be used on soft ground or gravel and still be solid because it spreads the weight around a much larger surface area.  the floor jack does NOT require a flat, smooth surface. The small wheels will probably sink into gravel/soft dirt leaving the large rectangular frame as the support. Actually, the bottle jack is more oriented to a smooth ,flat surface than the floor jack.

I know of several instances where friends or other trailer owners have tried to use bottle jacks and they have failed because of height or soft ground problems.  I tried the bottle jack myself and failed. Luckily, I was in an area patrolled by the road emergency crews and they were able to use their floor jack to help me out.  Immediately after that,  I bought the floor jack. Unfortunately, I have used the floor jack on too many occasions on very different roadsides and surfaces.

the floor jack is heavier, cost more and harder to store in the pod.  but, it is safer and has worked every time I needed it.

https://www.harborfreight.com/automotive/jacks-jack-stands/floor-jacks/15-ton-low-profile-aluminum-racing-floor-jack-with-rapid-pump-64545.html

We all make our own decisions and have to live with them.

Travel often and safe

Vann

I've been through many years of DoE and DoD field training and never once was a floor jack part of the equipment list. As one of my favorite instructors used to say,

"Safe" and "Easy" are two words that are rarely used together. There's a reason for that.

Cheers.

Our current trailer has an I-beam frame with leaf springs so I have some flexibility with lift points.  I also carry a collection of pieces of 2x6 blocks that I use for leveling when parked under the wheel and for the stabilizer and tongue jacks.  I can use those blocks to put under my bottle jack for a larger flat surface area and for a base for setting up my jack stand.  When I jack up the trailer, I also lower the stabilizing jacks with blocks under them as necessary for an extra margin of stability.

Using a combination of the 4@2X6 wood sections and 12" worth of stabilizer pads, build a short ramp to roll the flat tire up onto. Save at least one or two pads or pieces of 2X6 for the bottle jack if needed. You should now have plenty of room to place your bottle jack underneath. I use a 12ton bottle jack that has a 6X6 inch base for 36 square inches of footprint (I would not mess around with a 2ton jack). It is 9" tall compressed. Doing the math, you have 3" of clearance, 18" of pad/2x6 lift capacity. Yah, you get the point.

I also carry a jack stand and would use the trailer stabilizers for added safety.

At home, I use my rolling floor-jack to lift up the R-pod and place blocks under the axle/frame attachment point to take weight off the tires and axle between trips. Hope to avoid bent axle problems. 

Agreed. I have never been a big fan of the scissor jack for use on the road, however, in a shop setting they can be quite handy when you have a solid surface to work. We used them quite a bit in my motorcycle shop. We had a couple that we modified a high grade bolt to fit where hooked handle would go. Then we could use a drill driver with a socket to raise the jack. Very effect for removing rear wheels from motorcycles and as well as changing tires on ATVs.

As a quick update, I bought a Powerbuilt  All-in-1 3 ton with 21 ft lift range, which should work perfected for my 178 HRE. (Local Costco started carrying it at an amazing price only about US45 compared to online retailers here)

I've got two floor jacks at home, but due to the height of the rpod, only the large 3 ton one is able to lift it up for tire change, which I was really reluctant to carry and prompted to get something smaller.